Senior Designer

Creatives at AKQA apply artistry and craftsmanship to strategic insight, creating and bringing to life beautiful and technologically innovative ideas that move the world. From a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, our creatives are innately curious and strive to transform client challenges into beautiful, cutting-edge solutions.

The Senior Designer is a pivotal role, leading the imaginative application of craft and visual storytelling across brand and digital experiences. They are a versatile talent, adept at shaping holistic solutions that infuse meaning and intent, while obsessing over scalability through robust visual systems. Collaborating across disciplines, they translate strategic insights into compelling design codes. This role demands a curious, open, and passionate individual with a can-do mindset, deeply engaged with design, art direction, culture, tech, and AI.

Located on the Nieuwe Herengracht in central Amsterdam, you will also have access to our diverse network of specialists by collaborating across our European, Middle East and South African studios. You will work in an environment which fosters a meritocratic culture and encourages ownership, and you will be surrounded by some of the brightest minds in their fields.

 

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Set the Bar: Guide and craft innovative, industry-defining visual design from idea to execution across brand, campaign, and digital experiences.
• Lead with Autonomy: Design systems and define concepts, with little support necessary.
• Meaning into Form: Turn the why into work. Translate strategy and insight into clear visual narratives and distinctive design codes
• Systematic Thinking: Design and evolve scalable visual systems that work across platforms, channels, and moments without losing craft.
• Visual Intent:  Pull from culture, fashion, photography, and design to shape distinct, contemporary art direction.
• Present with Impact: Practice sharing work with confidence. Clearly explain ideas, decisions, and impact to clients and internal teams.
• Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration: Work shoulder-to-shoulder with strategists, client service, delivery,  writers, developers, and fellow designers to push ideas further and make the work better.
• Mentorship: Support and guide junior designers, building confidence, craft, and conceptual strength across the team.

 

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Proven Craft: A strong portfolio showing exceptional craftsmanship, sharp concepts, and range across brand and digital work.
• Visual Storytelling: A conceptual thinker who designs with meaning and intent, grounding ideas in the why and bringing them to life with precision and taste.
• Senior Experience: 5+ years as a Designer or (Digital) Art Director in an agency or similarly fast-paced creative environment.
• Tool Fluency: Expert use of Figma and Adobe, with a motion mindset and experience working with AI.
• System Mastery: Deep experience designing, building, and maintaining scalable visual systems, with equal love for the big picture and the details.
• Multidisciplinary Range: Comfortable moving between brand identity, campaign art direction, and digital product design, or keen to expand across them.
• Clear Persuasion: Confident presenter, able to clearly and convincingly articulate design ideas to any audience.
• Cultural Curiosity: Actively engaged with design, art direction, culture, technology, and emerging trends, with an interest in AI and its creative potential.
• Adaptive Energy: Flexible and resilient, ready to embrace evolving briefs, new challenges, and change.
• Can-Do Mindset: Proactive, solution-oriented, and positive, with a genuine drive to learn, grow, and make better work.

Explore our extensive range of benefits here.